Remains
by Sheireila
Summary: ..uh...never been good at writing summaries, nya ok: Sometimes things don't seem the way they truly are. Which hidden secrets will be revealed? DP, means FujixEiji CHP. 8 UP!
1. One

**Disclaimer: **I don't own anything..I just like to play from time to time XD

**A/N: **This is the first part of a fanfic I wrote some time ago; the first multipart one I ever wrote; third fanfic in total...

And sorry for typos, grammar or word mistakes as English is not my motherly tongue, so I still have to work on it .

If you like that one here of if you have some advice for improving , please let me know... comments are loved, nya!

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**_One: Strawberries, or why everything sweet has to end_**

"Nya, wait for me, Fuji", Eiji complained and started to increase his speed to catch up with his friend. "Let's go home together today?" the redhead continued once he was walking next to Seigaku's tensai, who just faced him and smiled. "Sure."

"Oi, Eiji-sempai! Not accompanying us today?" Momo, who somehow must have overheard them, shouted from behind, "Echizen and me just decided to eat something nice and we thought that maybe you want to join us…"

Eiji didn't miss the mischief in the younger one's voice and turned around, just to see both of them standing there; Momo was grinning broadly, while Echizen just pulled down his white cap to hide his rolling eyes, as if he wanted to say something, but whatever it was, it remained unspoken.

"Sorry, not today", Eiji started grinningly to reply to Momoshiro's request, "today it's just Fujiko and me, nya!" While saying the last words, the redhead just grabbed the mentioned one's arm and – as an emphasise of his words- pulled him a bit closer.

"Not going to treat them today?" the brunette asked teasingly, with his usual smile in place, after making sure that they couldn't be heard anymore.

"Mou, they're making it a habit to let me treat them…and if I'm going to refuse, Momo always starts with 'It's your duty as our sempai to take care of us, isn't it?' –nya, they always try to trick me, but I tell you, this won't function anymore!"

There wasn't any comment following on Eiji's statement, just a soft chuckle could be heard.

Tennis practice just had ended a bit earlier than usually, since it was the first day, which really deserved being called "spring's day"- a light breeze of fresh air accompanied the soft, but continuous sunshine. It was a lovely, warm day and so Ryuzaki-sensei had dismissed them from practice, after just reminding them to remember the aspects, which still needed some improvement, so they would be able do better next time.

Everyone seemed to be affected by the sudden change of weather and the atmosphere it was causing- even Tezuka seemed to make them run less laps than usually, although his expression stayed as stoic as ever.

"Hm, Eiji? Since the weather is that nice today, how about getting some ice-cream?", Fuji broke the few moments of silence, which had passed by since the redhead had stopped his rambling for a short period of time. In that case it wasn't really difficult to predict Eiji's reaction. By hearing the mention of ice-cream, ocean-blue eyes widened and were filled with some kind of happy sparkling. "That a great idea, Fujiko! I'd love to.." He had started to shuffle through his pockets, obviously searching for something, which refused to be found in that moment. Eiji frowned slightly, when he stopped talking.

"It's okay. I'll treat you", Fuji offered and was rewarded with the return of the redhead's happiest smile. "Really? Nya, but you don't have to.."

"Really", the brunette replied, while recognizing that he himself seemed to be affected by that weather- and that smile of Eiji- too, as he realized that his own smile had broadened slightly.

"Thank you, Fujiko, nya!" Eiji exclaimed and glomped his friend spontaneously, while continuing to speak. "You really are my best friend, aren't you?"

"But one thing, Eiji…I'm not going to carry you the whole way to the ice-cream parlour," the tensai softly interrupted the other one's discussion with himself about the topic, which flavour would be the best choice, as the redhead didn't seem to have the intention to let go of him during the previous fifty meters.

"You're not? Too bad..", Eiji commented, feigning innocent disappointment.

"Mou, honestly you're getting a bit heavy; Regarding this, maybe ice-cream isn't such a good idea at all, " Fuji suggested smilingly. "Oh, don't tease me like that!", the other one complained, finally letting go of his friend. "I just thought it was fun to be carried around...and we're almost there," he continued, still feigning some pout.

A few moments later Eiji's attention was focussed on his ice-cream; strawberry-flavoured with tiny chocolate chips- sweet and tempting. The two of them just had decided to head to the street-courts, which lay nearby, to sit down and relay a bit. And that was exactly what the two regulars were doing right now- sitting on a bench and eating ice-cream.

However, there were no player using the courts, so a peaceful silence- which was only interrupted by the first one's comments on how "yummy and delicious" his ice-cream just was and the other one's chuckling- was engulfing them.

Glancing around, Fuji found himself quite amused by Eiji's happy expression- innocent like a little kid- and on how the other's red hear seemed to gleam as the sunshine reflected on it in a somehow lovely way. It was quite a memorable scene, as it truly represented the atmosphere of spring, and he started to regret hat he didn't brought his camera; he had forgotten it at home as he had been busy with developing some photos the previous day.

Slightly lost in thoughts, Fuji didn't recognized the first moments the other one became completely silent, but after a few seconds he started to wonder. Eiji's glance had changed, it didn't seem to be focussed on something certain, just staring.

"Hm? What's wrong Eiji?", he asked curiously, watching the redhead's reaction.

"Nya, what?" The addressed one blinked a few time to focus his view again and his expression went back to normal again, only a slight sign of confusion on it.

"Nothing's wrong. I just was thinking about...nya, whatever."

The brunette was just about to ask which matters were concerning his friend, when the two of them recognized a shadow falling upon them, shielding them from sunshine, as somebody stepped in front of the bench they were just sitting on.

"Fuji Syusuke, what a coincidence.." A familiar voice started, spiced with a challenging undertone.

Instead of answering, Fuji just turned to Eiji. "Who is that guy? He seems to know me from somewhere, doesn't he?" The redhead just recognized the mischievous curve of the other one's smile and knew how this was going to end. That would be some fun, actually.

"Nya, Fujiko! You don' t remember him?", Eiji replied as innocently as possible, "It's that "nfu"-guy from your younger brother's school. He had been beaten by you in a single's match some time ago...I guess his name was…"

"Mizuki!! It's Hajime Mizuki, manager of St. Rudolph's tennis team," the dark-haired boy in front of them interrupted angrily, his left eye twitching.

"Ah, is that so?" Fuji replied totally unimpressed, his usual smiling expression still in place, before he distracted his attention from the tennis player standing in front of him.

That Mizuki just had ruined his opportunity to ask Eiji what the other one had thought about in that moment, which annoyed him a bit.

"Don't even try to ignore your destined rival!", Mizuki started anew, not giving up in any way, and pushed away some strands of his dark, shiny hair. "Since we're meeting here by coincidence…how about a tennis match? You and..", he stared at the redhead, who watched the whole scene with curious amusement "..and Kikumaru against me and.." St. Rudolph's manager turned around, as if he was searching for somebody. "Akazawa!"

Fuji just raised his eyebrows questionably and also Eiji blinked slightly confused.

"Honestly, it doesn't seem like anyone of your team- except you- is just present here. So the whole thing isn't going to function, ne? ", the redhead commented on the scene and leaned back.

"He can't be that far away, I'll go and get him. Just wait for a moment," Mizuki replied angrily, not content with how things were developing, and turned around to do as he just had announced.

As the silhouette of their challenger slowly disappeared, Fuji just leaned to Eiji, smiling at him. "Eiji?" "Fujiko?" "Let's leave before he is going to return?", the brunette suggested, opening his eyes for a few seconds, well-knowing that his friend would agree.

And, as a result, these two just grabbed their bags and stepped down the stairs, which led to the street below.

While he was walking next to his friend, Eiji just glanced at his wrist-watch. Fuji, as perceptive as ever, didn't miss that. "You have to leave?", he asked, successfully hiding the slight spur of disappointment, which almost had been reflected in his voice.

"Sorry Fujiko…I'll have to be back as soon as possible, as I promised my mother to help her with dinner today..", Eiji apologized shyly, while touching the nape of his neck with his left hand as a gesture of being uncomfortable with the current situation.

"Ah, I won't keep you from doing so", the other one replied. "You should hurry then," he added after a few seconds, as Eiji didn't make any attempts to go. "Uhm..yeah", the redhead agreed with some hesitation. "See you tomorrow then!" And a few moments later, Seigaku's acrobat was moving out of sight.

While watching his friend disappear, the brunette tensai couldn't wipe off the thought that something still was upsetting his friend- even after the other one told him there wasn't anything, he didn't seemed to be his usual self in the end.

But, Fuji thought, maybe he could be wrong with that assumption. Maybe.

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A/N: There are still some chapters to follow (four or five I think ), but I can't tell exactly when I'm going to upload them. Depends on the fact if somebody is reading this here or not lol 


	2. Two

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything..

**A/N: **So, here's the next chapter Still ..uhm... six chapters (oO I thought they were six in total..not eight) more to go, nya!

Please tell me if you liked (or disliked it), comments are love!

Nya, thanks to those who wrote comments on the first chap; I hope I'm not disappointing you with this one TT I'm still unexperienced in writing

Ah and sorry for the mistakes ...

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**_Next day- next trouble_**

The next day everything seemed back to normal again. Eiji's behaviour was the same as always; he acted cheerfully and bounced around, rambling about random stuff.

That would be the things a normal eye would just see. But to those, who knew the redhead just better, it occurred that some pieces didn't fit into the whole picture.

So thought Fuji. He could observe it during lessons.

Eiji's concentration tended to slip away- like it was the case too often- during subjects the redhead didn't consider to be his favourite ones. But today…it wasn't doing in that playful way it usually did. This time Eiji wasn't distracted because he kept on trying to chat with him during lessons or by doing something different than he was supposed to do; it was more like he still was thinking about the matters concerning him.

Fuji observed how the teacher caught Eiji few times, when the redhead shifted his gaze and stared out of the window occasionally. Every time that happened, Eiji would startle slightly and his eyes would widen and clear up, focussing on reality again.

And every time that happened, Fuji saw himself being busy with trying to let his friend, who sat right in front of him, know, which question their teacher just had asked.

Finally, lessons ended and while most of the students were about to leave the class-room, Fuji straightened up and stepped in front of the other's desk as Eiji didn't seem to have the intention to leave his position.

With his elbows resting on the edge of the table and his chin supported by his left hand, Fuji brought himself at eye-level with his friend, who watched him curiously.

"Eiji", the tensai started, slightly teasing, with his usual smile in place and his voice sounding as melodic as ever when he was about to do something.

"Nya Fuji, what is it?" the addressed one replied, sounding tired. Nevertheless he tried to smile, wondering what the brunette was about to do.

"That would be the question I would prefer to ask you instead", Fuji stated, still smiling serenely.

"Eh? Nothing's wrong, Fuji", Eiji tried to protest, just being rewarded with a rather suspicious glance of his friend.

"Don't even try to pretend that", the brunette replied.

Eiji started to feel more and more uncomfortable, somehow thronged, and he had a hard time to not just say what he was thinking.

"Why do you care that much?", he almost shouted back and caused his friend to blink in confusion. "What?"

The redhead just recognized that Fuji's smile had disappeared- an unreadable expression took its place- and he felt sorry immediately. "Sorry..", he whispered barely audible, not expecting the other one to hear that, and his gaze shifted away.

Eiji just had wanted to act normal towards his friend, because he hadn't decided what to do yet and was still desperate about this, but it seemed that he didn't do well at all.

Instead of this, so Eiji realized, he was…

"It's okay." Softly spoken words interrupted the redheads process of thinking. "I didn't want to bother you. I'm sorry." Somehow shocked, Eiji turned back again and stared at his vis-à-vis to find the other's smile back in place. Nevertheless Fuji made a hurt, maybe sad, impression.

"Fujiko.." Eiji's voice broke, the only remain was a silent whisper. Maybe he'd gone too far.

If Fuji had heard Eiji calling him, he didn't react. The brunette withdrew himself and went back to his table to grab his things, before he started to leave the classroom. In front of the door he just turned around for a few seconds. " Don't be late for practice, ne Eiji? Otherwise Tezuka will make you run laps…" Then he left.

This time, Eiji felt like being to one who was left behind, But he realized that this probably was his fault- he was acting way too moody.

"It's okay." Softly spoken words interrupted the redheads process of thinking. "I didn't want to bother you. I'm sorry." Somehow shocked as he was just realizing the whole situation, Eiji startled slightly, turned back again and stared at his vis-à-vis to find the other's smile back in place. Nevertheless Fuji made a hurt, maybe sad, impression.

"Fujiko.." Eiji's voice broke, the only remain was a silent whisper. Maybe he'd gone too far.

If Fuji had heard Eiji calling him, he didn't react. The brunette withdrew himself and went back to his table to grab his things, before he started to leave the classroom. In front of the door he just turned around for a few seconds. " Don't be late for practice, ne Eiji? Otherwise Tezuka will make you run laps…" Then he left.

The usually cheerful readhead couldn't prevent himself from thinking that things could still get worse. Up until now that day really was a failure- maybe practice would be too. Even if it hadn't started yet, Eiji just had the feeling that it would. It was annoying. He decided that he would put all effort in acting normal- he was in need of more self-control for this matter, because Eiji didn't want to experience more encounters like the one he had with Fuji earlier that day. He still felt sorry for that as he didn't meant to be that rude and the fact that his friend didn't make any further attempt to talk to him again made him a bit upset.

"Nya, let's try to think about something, which is more fun!", the redhead scolded himself. Anything else wouldn't improve the situation either. He bounced to Oishi's side. "Oishi? Who's today's opponent?" he started asking his doubles partner, but instead of the addressed one Ryuzaki-sensei was answering his question. "You two will play a practice match against Inui and Kaido. Court B. Now."

While heading to the given court, Eiji just leaned over to Oishi. "Is she in a bad mood today?" he asked, the volume of his voice dimmed so that nobody else, except Oishi, could hear his words. "I wonder..", the redhead continued.

"Eiji…Maybe it is because she already explained everything right before you'd asked about the same stuff. You didn't get anything of what she said, did you? You should have listened more carefully…" Oishi explained reproachfully. "Oh." That was everything Eiji managed to reply, his lips curved into an embarrassed grin. Oshi sighed. "Momo and Echizen will have a match against each other on court C and Fuji will play against Taka-san on court A. These matches will start around the same time as our one; after that there will be some other practice units to gain more stamina and so on.", the dark-haired boy continued to summarize the essence f their trainer's earlier words.

"Nya, thank you!" his doubles partner replied smilingly as they entered the court; Inui and Kaido already waiting for them.

From the very beginning their match had been pretty hard; Inui and Kaido didn't seem to have the intention to give them any opportunity to relax for a few seconds. But nevertheless Eiji couldn't prevent himself from being distracted from the match occasionally; his gaze shifted to the other two courts, where his team-mates played their own matches. His attention seemed to live it's own life, not willing to obey his orders.

"15-40!"

"Nya, sorry Oishi, I didn't see that one..", Eiji apologized when he missed one of Kaido's shots, because he had been staring at court A for a few moments.

"It's okay, Eiji. Just concentrate better, ok?" the other half of the Golden Pair replied.

But the addressed one couldn't do anything about it. The whole day he had problems with his concentration, which seemed to slip away like water through one's hands. And it didn't get any better, no matter how hard he was trying. It was too tempting to watch the match on court A; but the fact which was disturbing him most was that his eyes seemed to be stuck on the brunette tensai's lithe movements. And that was the reason why his attention distracted increasingly- because the more the match progressed the more effort Fuji would put into it; but it was obvious that the latter one would win without giving his best, though.

"Change court!"

"Eiji!" The now angry voice of his doubles partner caught him unprepared. Normally, Oishi was quite patient, but it seemed that Eiji just had managed to pass this barrier.

"Is there something wrong with you? You don't concentrate at all! I wonder what's more important right now?!," Seigaku's vice-captain continued, obviously annoyed by his partner's behaviour. And that was just the moment the redhead realized that the other combination was leading with two games.

"I'm sorry…", Eiji replied barely audible.

"Why don't you just listen to me? I told you to increase your concentration, didn't I? If you would have taken my advice we wouldn't loose like that!"

"Nya, Oishi! Why are you so mad at me? It's not alone my fault! If you aren't able to keep the pace of the game, I'm not to blame!"

"Eiji, this is doubles, not singles!"

The conflict between those two started to escalate. The Golden Pair didn't quarrel often, but if they did it mostly was impetuous.

"Don't talk to me like that!"

And it wasn't getting any better.

They continued to argue; the match seemed to forgotten for now. Even Inui headed to the bench to get one of his notebooks, after all he was getting some interesting data.

"I wonder what's going on there", Kawamura suddenly mumbled, a silent question reflecting in his eyes when he glanced at his team-mate. The two of them just had finished their match; and now they were wondering, why everyone- except them- seemed to gather at court B- even Momoshiro and Echizen had interrupted their match to observe the situation locally.

"I can't tell", Fuji replied, obviously busy with interpreting the scene, which took place 20 meters away from them. It was too far away to get every detail, though.

But seeing Eiji storming off the court suddenly really was upsetting him.

"Shouldn't we go there, too?", the other one asked.

"We've finished our match anyways, so we don't have to stay here any longer", the tensai replied smilingly. "So let's go."

When the two of them entered the other court, the atmosphere had changed from before. Everyone seemed to be restless, although there wasn't any conversation going on. Except Oishi's conversation with himself. The dark-haired boy still was asking himself why the redhead behaved that strange way- it was easy to overhear that as he was thinking quite too loud for the matters of privacy.

"What are you doing there?!" A familiar voice exclaimed angrily. "Regulars, you are expected to practice, not to chat or relax!"

Ryuzaki-sensei was entering the court, followed by Tezuka, and was obviously annoyed that practice was quitted for a matter she didn't get.

"By the way", she continued after a few seconds, which had been necessary to calm down a bit and to put the whole situation in some context, "where's Kikumaru-kun?"

"He..uhm…", Osihi started to give some explanation, but failed miserably. That was Inui's catchword.

"Eiji left exactly six minutes ago, after he had some quarrel with Oishi about the recent match. It seems like he had problems with his concentration, which caused his partner to go crazy.. And.."

"Ok, that's enough, Inui," their coach interrupted him. "That explains why you couldn't continue your match, but what about you?" With the last words, she turned around and faced the other regulars, causing Momo and Echizen to look like they had been caught on stealing some little kid's lollipop, before the to of them turned around and headed to their court to continue their match.

"And you?" she turned to Fuji and Kawamura, only earning the first one's usual smile, accompanied by the words "We've already finished it."

At least hose two just did what they were expected to do, Ryuzaki-sensei thought with resignation.


	3. Three

**disclaimer: **Uhm..I don't own anything... Just fooling a bit around, nya

**A/N:** Thanks for reading so far !! And thanks for the reviews of course; I hope you'll be able to enjoy the following parts, too

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_**Three: Broken Bridges**_

"Fujiko…?" Eiji suddenly asked, his voice laced with slight hesitation.

"Ne, Eiji? What is it?", the other asked back, still caressing soft strands of red hair; still aiming for the other's reassurance.

"I'm sorry" came the almost shy reply. He could watch Eiji frowning slightly and focussing on some random corner of the room, somehow embarrassed.

_For that incident this morning and because I made you worry_, the redhead continued in his mind.

"You don't have to apologize, silly. I've already told you.." Fuji started immediately, seeing no need for the other to apologize right now, since he hadn't done anything wrong in particular.

Some silent moments passed by, until Eiji found back his words again.

"Nya Fujiko….May I ask you something?"

As to tell from the undertone of Eiji's voice, this was going to end up in some very serious conversation. Not if the previous conversation they shared hadn't been serious. This could be foreseen then.

Their coach just had sent him to look after the redhead, who had stormed of the court and disappeared during practice. Knowing his best friend very well, Fuji didn't take much time to find Eiji resting somewhere on the campus; leaning against one of the trees, his head buried in his hands.

It took a bit patience to convince the latter one to tell him about the what happened during practice, but somehow they ended up in Fuji's room, which was the perfect place to have serious conversations as nobody, except them, was home- so they wouldn't be disturbed or interrupted.

"What do you consider as more important? Love or friendship?"

This question made Fuji, who only lost control over his expression very few times, blink in surprise. And maybe confusion.

"You're asking me to decide for one of these two? Saa…"

This was a tough one and Fuji asked himself why -all of a sudden- the redhead was asking this kind of question; but – as Eiji was his best friend- he just had to find an appropriate answer; otherwise the other one would have a hard time with cheering up again.

"This is a tough question. Really…", he mumbled, still thinking.

"..It's important", Eiji said, his words only a whisper, while he tightened his grip on the other boy slightly, hugging him closer.

"Hm..I guess you shouldn't let your friends down, even if you want to spend all your time with your beloved one…"

"Nya, that wasn't what I meant! I was talking about.. Uhm.."

It was like Eiji's words were dying. How should he explain the thoughts, which still kept on ghosting through his mind?

His friend gave him a rather questioning look, before starting a new attempt.

"Maybe you were thinking about.. Well, if there's a certain person and both of you are connected through friendship, but your feelings develop in another way- love as you stated-…" A short pause followed.

"Is that the background you based your question on?"

There was no particular answer following, just a slight nod. Now Eiji's expression was a mixture of desperation and curiosity, as if his friend's answer would bear the wisdom of the whole world.

"..This is really tough, Eiji. I guess it depends on the two persons being involved. It's just normal to fear the changes a sudden confession would result in.. What if the friendship is going to break when the other one doesn't reply those feelings? Or, if it doesn't break, will it ever be the same again? Will the whole thing end in rejection? Or maybe everything turns out to be pretty easy? That's the first aspect. The other aspect would be if the person could be able to be a friend- and nothing more- even if the feeling for the other one are tearing up his or her heart…

But whatever, there will be consequences, no matter what will happen."

"It really is tough...", Eiji replied quietly.

"But Eiji..if the other one just feels the same.. then the decision should be pretty easy. There are always signs for that …", Fuji added after a few moments of consideration; hoping that this would cheer up his friend again. Smilingly, he bended forward to regain some eye-contact.

"Did that help you to find your own answer?" _To tell from your expression, I guess it didn't._

A soft sigh could be heard when he redhead frowned slightly, biting his lower lip. "Maybe.." came the short, not very convinced, reply.

"Eiji…after all, you aren't the type of person, who is able to hide your feelings without ending up hurting yourself with it. Maybe you'll have to take the risk…"

Eiji felt caught.

_Nya, how come he always sees through my questions? Concluding that this wasn't a hypothetical question, but something which really concerns me…Nothing to hide anymore I guess._

"But Fujiko…what should I do? That friendship is very precious and important to me...I don't want to destroy it.." Eiji's voice was trembling and so did his hands, while he still clung to his friend, who, honestly, didn't know what to do either. He –almost- never had seen the usually cheerful and energetic redhead in such a state.

"If that friendship is trustworthy enough… I don't think that you'll have to fear loosing it,; even if your feelings aren't responded…the other one won't hate you then. The question is: Could you keep on with hiding your true feelings?"

"Fujiko…", Eiji sobbed, barely audible. "Would you help me?"

"How?", the brunette simply asked without any hesitation.

After all, this was his best friend asking for help.

Eiji wasn't sure himself. He didn't know why he had asked for that and raising more question wouldn't improve the situation either.

"It's okay, nya. Just a thought of mine…You helped me enough for now. I think I'll have to go through this all by myself." He tried to smile as cheerfully as possible, but instead of this he showed some half-hearted smile.

Silence grew very uncomfortable.

Fuji mentally sighed. The fight the Golden Pair have had in the afternoon seemed to affect his friend more than just assumed; Eiji really made a desperate impression and there weren't any signs that this point would improve.

But the question the other one stated before...Had that been the aspect the redhead had though about the other day, before that Mizuki had interrupted them? Had to be like this.

So maybe the whole thing concerned his friend that much, because his feelings towards their vice-captain were more then just friendly one? Could it be that…Eiji loved Oishi? Somehow, this made sense. Which didn't mean that Fuji liked that thought. But he wouldn't tell as this was Eiji's business and his decision- he had no right to interfere in matters that private.

Eiji would have given his right hand to just know what the brunette was thinking in that moment. His friend didn't said anything; his expression was still serious, even if the tensai's eyes didn't seem to be focussed on something. Feeling kind of unnoticed, Eiji straightened up and stepped in front of the window. It was raining.

"Nya..Fujiko?"

"Hm?" The other one was starling.

"Can I stay here?", the redhead asked, slightly begging. "It's raining pretty hard and I don't want to…", he started to excuse himself.

And if I go home…maybe Oishi will be there or he called…my family will be curious then… 

He wanted to avoid more trouble.

"Sure. This is no problem", came the soft reply, which was accompanied with a warm smile. "Just call your family so they don't have to worry about your whereabouts, okay?"

"Nya, thank you, Fujiko!"

In his mind, Eiji asked himself whether that was such a good idea at all. Hopefully it was.

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Hope you liked that one -sweatdrops- There's still more to follow...XD 


	4. Four

**disclaimer: Still the same..I don't own anything XD**

**A/N:** Nya, here's the next chap..it's kinda strange.. sorry. Nevertheless I hope you'll enjoy reading it -nya- hm..maybe I'm uploadng the next on this day too...as some kinda excuse XD

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_**Mindfields I**_

„Mum?... Nya, sorry ; I'm okay. Yeah...I just...I just wanted to tell you that I'm not going to come home today- I'm going to stay at Fuji's… Yeah, overnight stay. Ok?…Hm?…Nya, don't want to talk to him, just tell him to go home again. And don't mention that I'm here either, would you? Please Mum. Ah, tank you"

Eiji hung up, frowning. His mother had just mentioned that Oishi had come over to his house, obviously with the intention to talk to him, or, to quote his mum, to "settle things".

It was annoying, as he wasn't in the right mood to face his dark-haired doubles partner. In school would be soon enough, the redhead assumed, Nevertheless, a slight grin stole control over his expression as he was thinking about that. Oishi's behaviour had been too predictable- that was just one of the reasons, which caused him to stay here instead of being home.

"Nya, I'm back!", Eiji exclaimed while re-entering his friend's room. "Hm? What are you doing, Fujiko?", he continued further, watching the brunette shuffling through the pages of a leather-wrapped book and finally closing it, effectively hiding the content from Eiji's curious eyes. Which caused the latte one to became just more curious; he couldn't help it.

"Me? Nothing", the other replied and chuckled softly, before leaving his position and straightening up. "I'll get you the spare futon, just excuse me for a few moments…Ok?", Fuji said while passing his friend and leaving the room, shortly looking back smilingly, before actually disappearing.

Left alone, the redhead glanced around curiously; it was always interesting to see other people's rooms. But, he had to realize quickly and with some disappointment, there weren't any major changes compared to the last time he had been in his friend's room.

Ok, there were some new photo albums, neatly arranged in the brunette's bookshelf, and it seemed that some new pictures decorated the wall his friend was using to pin his recent favourites on.

But, except this, things seemed to be the same like before.

Eiji continued to examine the room with his eyes, partially looking for the book Fuji had looked through earlier, but he couldn't find it. Instead, one of the photos, which were pinned on the wall, caught his eyes immediately.

It seemed to be taken at night, or late evening, showing some part of landscape; trees, which surrounded some kind of alley or clearing. Above them, a bright crescent, partially covered by clouds, awarding them a weird gleam.

It took Eiji a few seconds to recognize the bench, which was visible in the right corner, only represented by its left half.

Somehow, if he thought more intense about it, the scenery seemed kind of familiar to him… Finally, he got it. It was the bench near the street-courts he could see on that photo, the same as…

The redhead just wondered, when Fuji had managed to take this one, as there already were small blossoms hiding between the leafs of the trees…

All in all, the atmosphere caught him. Eiji would estimate it as calm, maybe romantic in some way, but nevertheless as slightly gloomy and melancholic- He couldn't tell exactly, it left him with mixed feelings.

"Do you like that one?", the amused voice of his team-mate pulled him out of his thoughts. Fuji stood in the doorframe, carrying a futon, which he laid down on the floor. Carefully arranging it, the brunette looked up occasionally to observe Eiji's reaction. The redhead had blushed a bit, he recognized.

"It's…pretty", the addressed one answered after some seconds, well-knowing that "pretty" probably wasn't an appropriate term for describing that photo.

"Hm..If you like it, just take it", Fuji offered smilingly, before leaving his kneeling position and moving to his friend's side, who looked at him with widened dark-blue eyes- a unusual sparkle glittering in them.

Eiji knew that Fuji rarely gave away his self-taken photos, so he just was surprised to get that offer- a rare opportunity.

But faster than the redhead was even able to react, the brunette had reached out his hand and removed the picture from it previous place, playfully holding it into his best friend's field of view.

"Nya, thank you Fujiko!", the acrobat managed to say, a wide, true, smile curving his lips, when he took the picture and placed it on top of his bag carefully. He still asked himself, when Fuji had taken that one, but asking him about that would be in vain. Eiji knew that his friend liked to save some secrets around him- which, honestly, frustrated him sometimes. Although, when he managed it to be persistent enough, the redhead could find out pretty much... But enough with this, he scolded himself, before focussing on different things again.


	5. Five

**disclaimer: **No..still not owning them ;;

**A/N:** As I said in the AN of the previous chap, the update of this one would be quite soon xDDD So here it is

Thanks for reading (and thanks to my reviewers! -happy- reviews are love!) I hope you'll still like it...only three more parts to come!

* * *

**__**

**__**

**_Mindfields II_**

3.45 am.

That was the time the gleaming display of the alarm clock was presenting to him.

Softly sighing the boy closed his eyes again, trying to get back into the lovingly embrace of sleep, but the attempt was in vain as sleep refused to take him back right now.

He slightly rubbed his exes and blinked a few times, so his eyes could to get used to the dull darkness, which was engulfing him.

Not that this was very useful if you want to sleep again.

Just…why did he just wake up at this unholy hour? He couldn't tell, as there were no disturbing or loud noises; no clattering of roller blinds, which were pushed too hard by the wind; no traffic sounds; nothing.

The only sound his could perceive was the barely audible breath of his friend, which repeated itself in regular intervals. Well, and his own breath, somehow restive. At least one who could sleep peacefully.

He didn't recognize the moment his hand reached out; it happened unconsciously, but when he finally realized what he was about to do exactly, his fingertips already had reached their aim, softly stroking some silky strands of hair out of the sleeping one's eyes. Cold fingertips brushing against warm, soft skin by accident- the sensation, and the fact that the distance between their both faces had decreased in some definable way, caused him to twitch slightly and he pulled away his hand immediately.

His eyebrows narrowed slightly when he asked himself what he was just doing there. And why.

But his mind still seemed to be clouded, not fully awake…

Hopefully, he thought, the other one wouldn't wake up now; Exhaling as quietly as possible he recognized that after stirring just a little bit, the other's slow and calm pace of breathing started anew.

His eyes still remained on the sleeping figure in front of him; on the long eyelashes, which rested on smooth skin; the slightly parted lips…

And suddenly, he became aware of the moment's vulnerability, which could break every further seconds- like a raindrop which finally crashed down on dusty concrete.

A few moments passed by slowly before he felt weariness leaning down on him again and when he sunk into his pillow, the image he'd seen before still lasted on his mind.

Since when had those touches, which had been so normal between the two of them, started to feel that tingly? And since when did they send shivers down his spine?

Things were developing in an unexpected way, he realized, feeling like an invalid who had forgotten to take his medicine; it felt like his heart was wrenching. But then there was eclipse.

The night bears the hidden secrets of those, who fear to be caught; it the black velvet, which is laid down on those things, which shall remain unseen; it's the extension of the days arms, which aren't able to catch the ones falling down; maybe it's also the fulfilment of hidden dreams or the moment to finally break free.

There's no control. But maybe absolution.


	6. Six

**disclaimer**: I'm still not owning them XDD

**A/N:** Thansk for reading so far!!! And for the comments -always happy about them-

The last chap was a bit confusing, wasn't it? Well, I wanted to wite it in a way which doesn't give any hints about the who-is-who thing, so it could be either of them xD -couldn't decide herself- But the remaining ones arent' that vage, I guess.

Hope you'll enjoy the next part..here it is XD

* * *

_**Broken Sun**_

„..Fujiko..."

„Fujiko."

He could hear Eiji's voice, sounding far away though, echoing through the fog of sleepiness surrounding him, but it didn't really reach his mind.

'Not now', he thought to himself.

"FUJI!" The voice of his friend became louder.

This, supported by something poking softly against him in some ungainly way, effectively chased his sleepiness away –piece by piece- and left him with an ungracious feeling.

The brunette made an attempt to just shift to the other side, but was prevented from doing so as some weight was resting on his right arm persistently. Something was definitely wrong here.

"Nya, Fujiko, you're not a morning person today, are you? Your alarm-clock just rang a few minutes ago…so…Get up!"

"Uhm..Eiji…this is not possible," the addressed one murmured and lifted himself up for a bit, just to see the redhead's annoyed expression.

At least the other one had stopped his "attacks".

"What are you saying?", Eiji started to say, pouting, because his friend dared to doubt the truth laying behind his words.

"Mou..what day is it, Eiji?", Fuji interrupted him, still half-asleep.

"Why are you asking me? It's…Saturday, of course!", Eiji replied, still leaning heavily on his friend, who was even less amused.

"So tell me…Why should I set an alarm, if it's Saturday? We don't have school today, not even practice…", the brunette stated dryly, watching his friend's change of expression when finally the dice were falling.

"Oh." That was all, except for confused blinking. "But, what made me waking up then, if it hadn't been your alarm-clock?", the redhead continued, obviously aiming for an satisfying answer.

Sighing deeply, Fuji thought for a while, until he saw the small object, which flashed permanently. "Your cell-phone", he stated , before falling back into his pillows. "Just check it," he continued, still looking at his friend's face, who reached out and took the object in question.

Whatever he had received, Eiji didn't seem to be too happy about it. But before Fuji even made an attempt to ask for it, Eiji told him voluntarily.

"Some text-message from Oishi…He seems to be upset about something and wants to talk to me…"

"Hm?" The brunette's eyes opened immediately. Oishi leaving text-messages on Eiji's phone that early in the morning was…alarming. Somehow.

"What does it say exactly?", he asked further.

"It says that he wants to meet me at 10.30 in front of the coffee-shop a few blocks away. Well, to talk I assume", the redhead explained. His widened, ark-blue eyes focussed on his friend's ones, seemingly searching for something indefinable.

"Just go and talk to him. Ne, Eiji? He seems to care about you, so just tell him what's bothering you. Telling him about your hearts content surely will solve your problems. It's going to be okay, I guess…,"the brunette told him, giving his friend the most encouraging smile he knew he was capable of.

It seemed to work. After some seconds of hesitation, Eiji nodded slightly.

Closing his eyes again, Fuji reached out to tousle his friends soft strands of hair. "You'll do it."

_I'll decide later if that was a good thing to do. _

Maybe he would regret it- giving such an advice.

Deep in his mind, Eiji was wondering. What did Fuji just mean with "heart's content" ? Well it was clear that his friend wanted him to solve the problems of the previous day- that conflict between Oishi and him- but what was that for a term?

_It's kinda ambiguous, isn't it?_

Then, it hit him like an electric jolt.

He doesn't expect me to…does he? He can't assume that…I…Eh?! Maybe..No! Does he think that I've some deep feelings for..Oishi?! …Eew. That can't be, can it? There's some big misunderstanding. What is he just thinking?! Nya!

He frowned, passing a few more houses on his way to the place Oishi has offered him to meet at. Eiji just couldn't shake off these thoughts- they remained arguing in his mind.

The redhead had left his friend's house about maybe half an hour ago, after apologizing for waking the other one up and now actually leaving him alone. But..did he just hallucinate or made Fuji a somehow uncomfortable impression? The smile his friend gave him in the end definitely ad something faked.

Eiji knew his best friend better than the majority of people, probably 99, knowing the tensai, but up until now, the acrobat hadn't managed to see through all of the other's expressions successfully. But he still was convinced of what he'd thought earlier- it was confusing him nevertheless.

"Nya, why don't you just get that the only person I could be in love with is you?!", he shouted out loud, instead of just thinking. Frustration leads to do those things.

"E-Eiji?!"

Hearing the voice of his double's partner, Eiji startled and just realized that he already had reached the arranged meeting place.

Blushing, he just had one thought.

_Ohoh, I guess he heard that._

More misunderstandings seemed promisingly close.

Laughing nervously, he tried to respond to the stammered mention of his name.

"Nya, hi Oishi! You wanted to talk to me?", the redhead asked, dragging the other one into the coffee-shop.


	7. Seven

**_disclaimer:_** I'm not owning PoT xD Otherwise it would be less good I think xDD

**AN:** Thanks for reading so far (and for reviewing of course,nya!!) Here's the second to last chapter! Hope you'll enjoy it, it's a bit strange...-cough-

The next chap will take some time, as I'm not at home for a few days, I'll update next week then!

* * *

_SECRETS I_

„I'm sorry!"

Raising their earlier dropped gazes again, he two members of the Golden Pair looked at each other in surprise. With their apologize, both of them had broken the awkward silence, which had engulfed him after stepping into the shop, at the same moment.

The whole conversation definitely took it's time. Willing to become reconciled with his friend very soon, Eiji found himself entrusting and explaining the things, which tended to bother him and which had confused him during their practice match, to Oishi- well, not without cutting out certain details.

He actually hadn't planned to let Oishi into that secret – his "emotional problems"- but after accident telling out loud what he just was thinking that moment, the redhead found himself in urgent need to do that- there was no other choice to avoid some more problems sourcing in misunderstood words.

It was surprisingly relieving, though. He should have known.

Somehow, in spite of Eiji's logical explanation, his doubles partner made a rather surprised impression. From all things he guessed Eiji's distraction could have been caused by, Oishi hadn't expected the redhead to be in love with someone; someone, whose name his friend didn't reveal.

But, understanding as he was, the dark-haired boy knew that this wasn't the situation to dig for details, but to help his friend. Honestly, Oishi felt honoured that Eiji had approached him with these things- secrets, as private as this one, usually were Fuji's business; a fact, which sometimes caused a tinge of silent jealousy appearing in Oishi's subconscious.

"So you didn't do anything about it yet?," the vide-captain of Seigaku's tennis club asked with concerned disbelief, while shoving another mug, filled with hot chocolate, in Eiji's direction, who looked down for a few seconds, as if he was thinking about it.

"No. In fact I just recognized that I actually…Nya, you know. Didn't occur to me before," came the almost shy reply. Oishi was just about to ask for the reasons, not used to that state of his friend, when Eiji continued further- effectively foreseeing the upcoming question.

"Well, I don't considerthose feelings to be responded, nya. That person and me get along pretty well with each other, you know, but I wouldn't really expect him to have these kind of feelings for me…" His voice came to a standstill, sounding sad.

'_He?_' Oishi thought to himself, wondering. Before, Eiji had tried to define the subject he dedicated his love to as imprecise as possible – as if there had been something to hide. Well, there had been something then. That explained a lot.

"Eiji…," Oishi started hesitantly, locking his eyes with the dark-blue ones in front of him. "I know that this probably might be a really tough situation for you, but it can't stay like this. You'll never know whether your feelings are responded or not, if you are not even going to find the courage to show them. Sure, you mentioned that you don't want to destroy the "deep friendship" the two of you…" And in that moment, he finally understood. He understood, about whom Eiji had talked all the time. Oishi didn't recognize the death of his words, not even by the expecting glance the redhead was giving him, while sipping his drink; he just found himself able to stare with eyes, widened in surprise, only interrupted by slow blinking.

Pulling himself together as well as possible and ignoring the stream of thoughts winding around his conscious, Oishi smiled at Eiji, before saying some words the other one always would remember as really relieving and reassuring.

"I don't think that there is anything to fear, Eiji."

_**SECRETS II**_

"Nya Oishi! You're just sounding like you knew, who is meant by my words…," Eiji wondered, tilting his head slightly and emphasized his question silently by giving some puzzled glance.

Oishi bended forward and decreased the volume of his voice, giving it some discreet touch, before whispering his assumption. "It's Fuji, isn't it?"

Immediately leaning back against the arm of his chair again, the dark-haired boy watched his friend's reaction with some curiosity; Eiji's face flushed immediately, almost taking the shade of it's owner's hair, and the redhead's eyes widened even more.

"Y-You… figured.. it out?," the latter one stammered softly, his voice tinged with both- surprise and shock.

"…" The first moments after hearing the other's posed question, Oishi remained silent. Then, he started speaking. "Eiji. This wasn't very difficult to find out. You just gave me some useful hints, you know? First, you mentioned that your "special person" is a "he" and that there's a deep friendship linking the both of you…

The two of you are best friends since..well, for a very long time- who would fit better into that description then?"

Eiji looked down sheepishly. So Oishi found out- but his friend's reaction had been more positive than he had dared to expect.

Maybe that was just the reason, why the Golden Pair could function that well; Oishi always had been a very understanding person – ok, most of the time – and caring; Eiji knew he could rely on him, when it was necessary.

"Just tell him…" The advice of the dark-haired one pulled Eiji back to reality again. "Nya, you think I should do that? Don't you think he'd be…," the acrobat asked, still uncertain about the "ifs" and "hows".

"Seriously, Eiji. Just try. I'm pretty optimistic that your chances aren't that bad," Oishi interrupted his friend and smiled at the puzzled-looking face in front of him.

"Seriously?," Eiji asked back, seeming convinced by his partner's words. After all, Oishi was more objective- maybe he could be right then.

After all, the redhead really was happy that the previous conflict between the two of them was solved now; in the end both of them promised that they would try not to let happen those things again.

They really were Seigaku's Golden Pair.


	8. Eight

**disclaimer:** same as always..nothing to own.

**AN:**

Hi there! So here it is: the last part. It was hard to write, I'm nt used to write ends at all. So it could be that it is weird, too kitschy or anything else..-sigh- And I guess it isn't a proper end -tends to leave things open- So well, I hope you'll enjoy it nevertheless! That's the end of my first multipart-fic...

Thanks for reading and reviewing, it makes me really happy to know that there are people, who enjoy reading my stuff. Thank you!

* * *

_**NO WAY BACK**_

Nervously shifting his weight from one foot to the other one, Eiji found himself standing in front of Fuji's house, staring at the doorbell, but he didn't move.

The whole way back, he had thought about how to realize Oishi's advice. He should stop forgoing that topic, that was clearly defined- that game of hide and seek had to stop.

But, what the hell, which way was the moist appropriate to tell your best friend that you might have fallen in love with him?!

"Nya," he complained barely audible, still remaining on his spot, when –suddenly- the door in front of him was opened. The redhead startled obviously and made a dart backwards, only to find the tensai tilting his head and watching him with a look, which seemed to be a mixture out of curiosity and amusement. "Eiji?," his vis-à-vis asked softly, "How was your meeting with Oishi?"

"Huh? Oh, pretty good," the addressed one replied half-hearted, distracted by the view he had been greeted by and which now was fully presenting itself to him.

Fuji was standing in the doorframe, his right forearm leaning against the wall. Obviously, he had just come out of the bathroom, as to tell from the towel hanging loosely around his neck, assimilating most of the drops a water falling down from the dimmed strands of honey-brown hair, which hung slightly into Fuji's eyes and wrapped themselves around the skin of his face and neck.

That was only emphasized by the fact that he only was wearing a pair of jeans and- instead of wearing it- his shirt was draped on his shoulder, revealing a nice amount of slightly flushed skin.

Recognizing the glance Eiji was giving him, the brunette's usual smile even grew wider. "Ne, Eiji? When I just stepped out of the bathroom I saw you standing in front of the door, doing nothing. I thought that maybe there would be something wrong with you, so I just hurried a bit," he explained the current situation, still sounding quite amused.

After a few seconds, Fuji stepped back, baring some space to enter the house. "Come in," he offered.

Eiji just followed, smiling eerily.

Eiji just stepped in. He didn't know how much time had passed by since he had left for that meeting, but a short glance at the clock told him that it had been two and a half hours. His glance travelled back to his friend, who finally had put on his shirt and was offering him something to drink.

"Nya, thank you, Fujiko," the redhead said smilingly, while taking the glass.

Fuji gestured him to sit down, softly patting the spot next to him. "So…how was your date? Did everything go well?" The brunette's voice was dripping like honey, while it's owner's hand was brought to his chin, his fingertips gently tapping against his bottom lip; as if he was thinking about something.

"Yeah, it was really good, nya! We were able to solve these problems concerning both of us," Eiji answered happily, swinging his legs slightly. Somehow it occurred to him that his friend maybe expected some more detailed information.

"Nya, you know, we apologized to each other and I explained to him what was bothering me the whole time. He was very understanding, so everything's back for good now," the redhead added, answering himself why Fuji remained that silent, only watching him with..kind of… unreadable expression.

He realized pretty soon.

_Uh, I just forgot that he was just thinking that..by the way, did he said "date" earlier? And I didn't correct it. That was a trap. I hadn't recognized in the first place, I guess._

Eiji decided that the time had come to clarify a few things.

"Fujiko?" Speaking with serious tone, Eiji addressed himself to his best friend, locking his deep-blue eyes with the brunette's ones, which slowly opened, looking back deeply.

"Yes?," Fuji replied; the small word sounding like a whole story; too much weight on it.

"Nya, you know…Oishi and me…," Eiji started, but stopped, sighing deeply, before attempting to continue. "Oishi and me, there's nothing between the two of us except friendship…And there won't be anything else," he added hesitantly.

In spite of his effort to sound as objective as possible, Eiji thought that the tone of his voice contained of too much tension- even his hands were trembling slightly if he thought about the speech, which would follow in a few moments.

He waited for a few seconds to gather the needed strength.

But when Eiji found himself pulled into a tight embrace; the soft voice of Fuji uttering his sympathy for him and telling him that time surely would ease the pain he must feeling right now, the words, Eiji had prepared in mind earlier, dried up like water on a hot summer's day, just leaving him with some stored-up feelings. Which made their way to pour down on him. Merciless.

Feeling helpless, the redhead buried his face into the crook of Fuji's neck, avoiding the other's gaze just for now, before he started to do what he wanted to do.

"Fujiko..I don't mind. Honestly. Because…," he had to make a short pause, "because the one who caused those feelings hadn't been Oishi."

Eiji just could imagine pretty well, how surprised Fuji must be, hearing those words coming from him. But the real confession was just about to come.

"It was you."

Three words, burying all truth in them.

Eiji felt how the warm embrace, he had found himself in earlier, froze.

Friendship is a crystal, just like love; very nice looking and precious to those, who own it- but it can be broken easily.

Unless you are able to turn it into a diamond.

There wasn't any reaction, Eiji realized.

_He doesn't say anything…_

Maybe it had been an unforgivable mistake to do that. He shouldn't have taken Oishi's advice.

In his position Eiji couldn't see his friend's – would he still be that?- expression, but that silence wasn't a good sign.

As he was just about to drown in guilty thoughts and regret, becoming a source of rain himself, Eiji didn't hear the other one calling him by his name.

"Eiji…"

That had been the third time Fuji was calling his friend, but it was in vain as the addressed one didn't react to the utterance of his name.

The brunette stirred, removing his arms to release his friend from the embrace- to check on him.

He placed his hands on Eiji's shoulders, softly causing a bit of distance, so he was able to take a look on he redhead's face.

The sight was kind of heart-wrenching.

Biting his lower lip, Eiji didn't dare to look at him- he shifted his head to the side instead.

Nevertheless, Fuji could see the dangerous sheen of tears, which were about to well out of the other one's eyes.

Cupping the redhead's cheeks with both hands, Fuji almost forced the other to look at him, while his thumbs stroked along the corner of Eiji's eyes in a soft and soothing manner, preventing those tears from cascading down blushed cheeks.

He leaned closer to his friends, until the tips of their noses almost were touching.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Eiji's perception didn't told him about the other's words- until that moment, when Fuji apologized to him. It was a painful moment- he didn't know how to interpret that apologize, and the brunette's touches seemed to burn and freeze his skin at the same time. All he could do was to stare at those cerulean eyes, which seemed to come closer with every second.

The moment, Eiji was realizing that Fuji really had moved closer, was also the moment when he felt the other one's lips touching his own ones, while the other's hand had travelled to the nape of his neck, holding him close. He just gave in.

This moment, only a few seconds, didn't last that long.

Fuji withdrew himself, his expression still apologizing, cheeks blushed slightly.

Eiji himself couldn't really believe what just had happened, but the signs obviously told him that this- and nothing else- had been reality.

"Fu-Fujiko," he stammered hoarsely, before wrapping his arms around his friend's neck, pulling him close again.

Only a slip-second later, lips searched for lips again, finally meeting in somehow sensual passion.

It's emotion, which keeps our hearts running.

When the two of them broke apart from this kiss, the need for some oxygen evident, panting with reddened lips, Eiji still was crying, but the sparkle in his eyes just told that those tears were the result of looking too deep into sun.

After the rain comes sun. It always does.


End file.
